Presenting The MYSTICS Band

JOHN GRILLO is no stranger to concert stages. He is presently the Drummer at Joan of Arc church, Chris Macdonald, Joel Dasilva Band and and many other bands in the SW Fl area. John is a drummer with 50 years experience playing professionally, over 10 years teaching, Playing shows, night clubs, church, temple, hand drums private instruction on drum set Electronic percussion self-taught hand percussion read and write drum notation. Played shows with The Impalas, The Coasters, Jay Black, The MYSTICS to name a few and many local artists. He has rejoined The MYSTICS after a brief break as he was their Drummer for over 5 yrs. Welcome Back!

Mike started playing drums at 9 years old, played in his first band at 15 called Hummingbird. His first music influences were the Beatles and The Dave Clark Five.

At 13 he saw the Vanilla Fudge and that concert changed Mike’s life, first time he saw Carmine Appice play and that's when Mike knew he wanted to play like him. Carmine is his major influence on drums, at 17 he had the privilege of studying with Carmine for many years, and today he is one of Mike’s closest friends. Mike also studied with Joe Markowski, Jim Chapin, Joe Franco and Peter Greco and is presently studying with a local teacher Joe Porto. Mike was considered to be one of the top drummers on Long Island and the New York area.

Mike played with many of the top area bands and musicians. He played with Dillinger, Railway and Gunn, The Hots, Mr. Johnson, Tremor and Peacock to name a few. Peacock was an original music and recording band. While in Peacock he was asked if he wanted to play with D.L. Byron and a band called Blue Angel (Cyndi Laupers band before she became famous, But, Mike said he was going to stay with Peacock (Big mistake the drummer who played with D.L.Byron went on to play with Scandal, Billy Idol and Joan Jett). Mike’s friend Jon Small, drummer for The Hassels (Billy Joels first band) called him and told Mike that Peter Criss was leaving Kiss and they were looking for a drummer. Jon recommended me to Paul Stanley for the drumming job, but they wanted a singing drummer.

Mike is known for his solid drumming style and Carmine approach to drumming. Other than Carmine, he was influenced by John Bonham, Dino Danelli, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and Max Roach.

After relocating to Fl he enjoyed the life of retirement until he was recommended by his friend Bill Pacalli to George Galfo the Original founding member of The Mystics. George was looking for a drummer and called Mike. He is looking forward to a new Journey and Honored and Proud to join The Mystics Band as their drummer.

JOHN GRILLO
Drums

MICHAEL RUSSILLO

DRUMMER

STEVE CLARKE

Keyboards/Vocals/ Band MD

PETER FRANK SANTOVITO

Lead Guitar/Vocals

Page is Dedicated To The Memory

Greg Pando

Our Brother.....Our Bassman...Lead Guitarist ...Vocals

TOMMY CALTON

Lead Guitar

Born in 1958 in London, United Kingdom........ Steve began his musical journey at the age of 12 years old when he enrolled in private music lessons with an organ teacher by the name of Monica Stephens a beautiful black lady from Jamaican descent.

This was an added advantage for Steve as he was able to pick up the feel of all music at it's roots...... As a teenager, he studied music at Thurrock Technical College in Essex and at the age of 15 began playing live music with local Pop and Variety bands in Essex and around the London Area. During his time at college Steve played gigs 2 to 3 times every weekend and really gathered a wealth of gigging experience.

Steve at age 19 years joined a National traveling U.K. Pro-band called OZO, who wrote and performed their own original songs. OZO toured all over the UK, traveling from city to city.....He returned to London to record an album at the DJM and Utopia Studios, on which he played Piano/keyboard/Organ/Synthesizer… OZO recorded several albums on the DJM record label (Which was also Elton John's record label), adding his skills and style that he'd learned at an early age.

Later, during his early 20s, Steve then took employment at a local music store in Essex England where he originally joined as a junior salesman. His success became such that he was the highest earning salesman within the company, quite an accomplishment at a young age.

After getting married to Kristee at the age of 24, Steve decided that he was ready to take his future to the next level and decided to open his own music store in Billericay, Essex in 1983. The store was a huge success, affording him the ability, over the next several years, to expand his business by opening 3 more stores throughout the Essex area. Each store was a success, offering for sale a huge array of musical instruments and accessories...... With each electronic organ or piano sold, a course of 6 Free lessons was offered, giving the customers the ability to learn to play their newly acquired instrument.

In 1994 Steve, his wife and 3 children moved to Orlando and took up roots there .

Steve has taught professionally for many many years, to students from 5 years old to 90 both in store or in the privacy of their own home. Teaching music has always been a passion for Steve, sharing his musical knowledge and experience with students of all ages, he currently is a Music Professor at a Music Academy in Winter Garden, Florida

He has played keyboards and sang popular tunes all over venues in Central Florida with his own band SUNSHINE BAND and with wife Kristee as SUNSHINE DUO, playing popular tunes at private events.

He first got involved in Rock n Roll and Doo Wop music many years ago and was Keyboard/Piano man for another Doo Wop Group here in the Orlando area.

Steve is looking forward to embarking on a new journey as Keyboardist/ Vocalist/ Band MD for The Doo Wop Music Hall of Fame Inductees ..”The MYSTICS” with Original MYSTICS member George Galfo,

Joining The MYSTICS Band for their SE & SW Fl dates

Tommy Calton began playing guitar at age 12 in his home town of Birmingham Alabama cofounding 3 bands and doing local session work.

He left Birmingham to live in Mandeville La (across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans) for 2 years and played with George Porter Jr’s group Runnin Pardners.

From there he moved to Orlando FL playing at Church Street Station then the Hard rock Live. From then to the present he’s played as a backup guitarist for several artists all over the U.S.. Today he still resides in Orlando doing what he likes to do, playing guitar.

He's looking forward to working with Doo Wop Music Hall of Fame Inductees The MYSTICS with Original founding member George Galfo,

JEROME ROBINSON

Bassist

PETER FRANK SANTOVITO aka Peter Frank is an Award Winning Songwriter. Musician, Performer, Recording Artist, Producer. He is a Voting member in good standing with N.A.R.A.S.,(The Grammy's) Florida Chapter..

Former Lead Guitarist with "VITO & THE SALUTATIONS"; JIMMY GALLAGHER (THE PASSIONS); TONY PASSA (THE FASCINATORS);and performed in support of many other Major Music Artists: Sam Moore; Three Dog Night; Herb Reed and The Platters.

With only taking a few music lessons, he started his musical career at age 14. Beginning under the tutelage of his Mother herself a musician, who played the piano, it was clear from the moment he was a child that music was to be his destiny. Almost as soon as Peter saw "The Beatles" on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. This early training turned out to be invaluable, as it paved the way for jhis more creative songwriting ideas while performing on the most prestigious musical stages in the world.

Looking forward to working with Doo Wop Music Hall of Fame Inductees The MYSTICS featuring Original founding Member George Galfo along with Ralph Rati, Jerry Frulio & Anthony DeFontes

Jerome Robinson is from Freeport, NY graduating Freeport H.S. Class of 1976. Freeport is where his career began in the music industry.

Jerome is a Florida Transplant ..He is from New York and relocated in 1981. He began playing bass at the age of 17. He played in a band with a young man by the name of Rico in New York. We all know who this influential bass player is. His name is Flava Flav. Jerome credits him with encouraging him to play the bass. What is special about Jerome is this talented human being is the fact that he came from a musical family and that all of his influences are guitar players, not bassists.

Jerome Robinson is a self-taught musician who's main instrument is bass guitar. Besides being a fan of Miles Davis, Jerome's influences have usually been guitarist players (Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour, Alan Holdsworth, Yngwie Malmsteen and more). Although Jerome started playing bass in 1977, he didn't actually start taking it seriously until someone gave him a copy of Van Halen's first album. Listening to Eddie's playing prompted Jerome take a close look at where he was as a bassist which can be heard in his writing and playing style.

He has played all over the state of Florida and he loves what he does ..

He is presently residing in Belleview, FL with his wife Georgia.

Jerome is an accomplished Bassist, Composer at IMDb, Songwriter at BMI, and Music Director at MUGS Florida: Most Unusual Group Serving Florida which is a fund raising group for Outreach Autism Services Network and Hospice of Marion County.

He joined The Mystics in 2018 and is Honored to be part of The Mystics Band. He enjoys being on the stage with them.